The Minority Report! Diversity In The MU.

[aja_christopher]

Apparently, Chris Claremont has created 703 Marvel characters; both he and Peter David have done a good job of incorporating different types of diversity into their books (Storm, Dani, Rictor, Sunspot, Monet, etc). Interesting article on both for those who want to read it.

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"Claremont said his two key Marvel experiences were picking up a copy of "Fantastic Four" #48 when he was in high school, in which Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Watcher during "The Coming of Galactus," and then being hired to work at Marvel shortly after getting out of college. He said that for years, he was cribbing script style off that Galactus story, which not only threw tons of new characters on the table in three issues, but then wrapped the action within the first 12 pages of the final issue in order to shift to character subplots like Johnny Storm going to college. That lack of wasted story space in service of story beats guided Claremont.

"That's why 'Days of Future Past' only runs two issues – because that's all it needed," said the writer, adding that the difference between his comic and the recent film was that "one cost $25,000 and one cost $250 million." The legendary X-Men writer went on to say that the influence of that story stretched farther than he ever imagined..."

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=53459

[Kieran_Frost]

It's an effort most X-writers do when they introduce young mutants. The probleme, is that every writer wants to create his own new generation of mutants, and that they don't replace the old, overexoposed characters, but the new characterss the precedent writer introduced.
So once Bendis is finished with the X-Men (and assuming he didn't kill his creations like he did with Echo and Victoia Hand), most of them will fade in background and be replaced by the new new new new new mutants.
Maybe Time-stop Girl will stick around (there is always a lucky one, like Pixe or Oya), but I don't expect the others to do big things 10 years from now.

While I don't think Eye Boy or Shark-Girl will be around 10 years from now, I think Bendis has created some rather unique characters. Of all the recent X-kids, the ones who "survived" were due to Kyle&Yost's handling in New X-men. While few have joined main casts, most have been around and used by various writers in an arc or two. I'm hoping the same is true of Bendis' kids, because I think he's actually done a great job with them (though I want Christopher Muse to get an issue focused on him soon).

The same way a gay person should be wary of rosin Scott card coming along and writing a gay character is the same way a black person should be wary of how a non black person depicts them.

You're can't compare the two, even remotely. LGBT fans should be wary of Orson Scott Card writing an LGBT Marvel character because he publicly funds numerous anti-LGBT groups and organisations, and speaks on his dislike of homosexuality. Black fans should be wary of writers (coincidently, like Card, who also funds racist groups) if they have a track record of publicly being against the black community; they shouldn't (by default) be wary of how ALL non-black writers write black characters. You're not comparing like for like.

To emasculate them in media. Which is not unprecedented.

As everyone else has said (but it bares repeated) being LGBT doesn't (by default) emasculate you.

And there's a lot of LGBT characters who actually haven't gotten talked about in that thread. I don't think Julie Power's really gotten mentioned, either.

We discussed him on the first page of the thread; and numerous times though-out. Ignore the crazy.

Ok. And I'm not saying that every time you see Prodigy he has to be, "I was coming to the meeting and I was stopped by the cops!! And I'm young black and angry about it!!!" Chavez: "An' they thought I was some gang banger's girlfriend! Revolution!" However, it wouldn't be so terrible if such issues were occasionally acknowledged.

On the other hand, I'd only want to see such issues addressed if they were done so in a sensitive and intelligent manner.

100% agreed. I like when Bendis showed Christopher Muse have an issue with cops (and the cop seeming more aggressive with him), without spelling it out. It was a good acknowledgement of what occurs, like Al Ewing's comment about Monica's hair in Mighty Avengers, he didn't spell out the issue for those who don't know it exists, but he put the comment in there for those who understand.

[mugiwara]

While I don't think Eye Boy or Shark-Girl will be around 10 years from now, I think Bendis has created some rather unique characters. Of all the recent X-kids, the ones who "survived" were due to Kyle&Yost's handling in New X-men. While few have joined main casts, most have been around and used by various writers in an arc or two. I'm hoping the same is true of Bendis' kids, because I think he's actually done a great job with them (though I want Christopher Muse to get an issue focused on him soon)..

They are mostly faire valoirs for Kid Omega. They just get scraps in some books, appearing in the background and not doing anything relevant. Even Pixie, who wwas actually part of teams, was stripped of her personality, because writers didn't really care about her and just wanted a "kitty pryde".
The New X-Men kids should do like Prodigy and join some Avengers team. Being in Wiccan's shadow is still better than being in the pink haired faux rebelle's shadow.

[Kieran_Frost]

They are mostly faire valoirs for Kid Omega. They just get scraps in some books, appearing in the background and not doing anything relevant. Even Pixie, who wwas actually part of teams, was stripped of her personality, because writers didn't really care about her and just wanted a "kitty pryde".
The New X-Men kids should do like Prodigy and join some Avengers team. Being in Wiccan's shadow is still better than being in the pink haired faux rebelle's shadow.

I disagree, the kids have had plenty of exposure since their main-cast usage. Even now in Wolverine and the X-men, Hellion and Rockslide have been part of the plot, in X-men Hellion, Anole and Rockslide are currently getting focus in the subplot "Bromance". Mercury and Bling! have both had focus in X-men, and Pixie is joining Amazing X-men (and, based on interviews, so will Anole). Indra got a whole arc in X-men: Legacy (a comic that also used a lot of the X-kids through-out), Loa was a main cast in Namor: the First Mutant and Fear, Itself: the Deep. Dust is the main New X-men kid who hasn't gotten any focus since Young X-men (outside of her small, but awesome appearance in Age of X). With Kyle&Yost back, I'm confident the kids will get much more time to shine (but the last two years have been great for fans of the X-kids, things are getting better).

Though I do agree, Kid Omega is far over-exposed. But he's not the sole X-kid getting a chance to shine (though he does get the most exposure).

[Alvarez]

This whole Prodigy discussion brought this situation to my mind.
I think it shows just how absurd some of this is.

Now imagine you have a friend you've known for years.
He's had a girlfriend and you have seen him kiss her.
Then comes the day he decides to come out as gay or bisexual.
This is how some of the naysayers in this thread would sound.

"But I've seen you kiss a girl."
"Yeah, but now I've realized I actually/also like men."
"But you had a girlfriend."
"Yes I did... but I actually/also like men."
"Wait, but, your personal history with me shows that that's not true."
"And I'm telling you that despite that I am attracted to men."
"Come on though, you had a girlfriend and did stuff with her!"
"So what? That doesn't change the fact that I like what I like."
"To be honest, I just prefer you that way, it's true to your original self."
"My what?"
"You know, the original you that I came to know."
"This is about what makes YOU comfortable?"
"No, I'm just saying that... YOU KISSED A GIRL!"
"I don't even..."
"You're also making the black friends I have look bad. I barely have any and you'll take that away."
"I'm your only black friend."
"Yeah, but now you'll be gay/bi."
"How the hell does that make me NOT black?"
"Equal representation and supporting one group for another your know."
"T-that's not how that works as all."
"Look, you had a girlfriend and your history says otherwise. Changing your sexuality is pointless, let others do that. I need straight black friends."
"I am gay/bisexual... just deal with it or move on."

[Greg]

This whole Prodigy discussion brought this situation to my mind.
I think it shows just how absurd some of this is.

Now imagine you have a friend you've known for years.
He's had a girlfriend and you have seen him kiss her.
Then comes the day he decides to come out as gay or bisexual.
This is how some of the naysayers in this thread would sound.

"But I've seen you kiss a girl."
"Yeah, but now I've realized I actually/also like men."
"But you had a girlfriend."
"Yes I did... but I actually/also like men."
"Wait, but, your personal history with me shows that that's not true."
"And I'm telling you that despite that I am attracted to men."
"Come on though, you had a girlfriend and did stuff with her!"
"So what? That doesn't change the fact that I like what I like."
"To be honest, I just prefer you that way, it's true to your original self."
"My what?"
"You know, the original you that I came to know."
"This is about what makes YOU comfortable?"
"No, I'm just saying that... YOU KISSED A GIRL!"
"I don't even..."
"You're also making the black friends I have look bad. I barely have any and you'll take that away."
"I'm your only black friend."
"Yeah, but now you'll be gay/bi."
"How the hell does that make me NOT black?"
"Equal representation and supporting one group for another your know."
"T-that's not how that works as all."
"Look, you had a girlfriend and your history says otherwise. Changing your sexuality is pointless, let others do that. I need straight black friends."
"I am gay/bisexual... just deal with it or move on."

The sad thing is... this is close to how some conversations are.

Many times a lot of my friends find it so difficult because of my history with girls, heck even the girls I've linked and hooked up with refused to believe I was bi. Some of my friends though I was pulling jokes for a while.

[Sutekh]

As everyone else has said (but it bares repeated) being LGBT doesn't (by default) emasculate you.

I think 'emasculate' was a poor choice of words, but I have heard it said that a gay black male lead is seen somehow as 'safer' or 'less threatening' to a white male audience, since he's automatically out of competition for the leading lady. (Which is terribly on all sorts of levels, since, in addition to the racism / gay-nonsense, it's *also* problematic in it's assumption that the women in the story are there for the guys to 'win' or 'get,' as if they were just trophies to be fought over, and not people with their own agency.)

I don't think Prodigy's Suddenly Sexuality situation really has anything to do with that, 'though. Kate Bishop was already in a relationship when he arrived, and America Chavez was not having any of it, so he wasn't 'threatening' any sort of assumed white male ownership of the local ladies.

[mugiwara]

I think 'emasculate' was a poor choice of words, but I have heard it said that a gay black male lead is seen somehow as 'safer' or 'less threatening' to a white male audience, since he's automatically out of competition for the leading lady. (Which is terribly on all sorts of levels, since, in addition to the racism / gay-nonsense, it's *also* problematic in it's assumption that the women in the story are there for the guys to 'win' or 'get,' as if they were just trophies to be fought over, and not people with their own agency.)

I don't think Prodigy's Suddenly Sexuality situation really has anything to do with that, 'though. Kate Bishop was already in a relationship when he arrived, and America Chavez was not having any of it, so he wasn't 'threatening' any sort of assumed white male ownership of the local ladies.

The fun thing is that I've seen a lot of people of tumblr feeling threatened by Prodigy being bi. They feared that he would break their favorite couple.

[Kieran_Frost]

I think 'emasculate' was a poor choice of words, but I have heard it said that a gay black male lead is seen somehow as 'safer' or 'less threatening' to a white male audience, since he's automatically out of competition for the leading lady. (Which is terribly on all sorts of levels, since, in addition to the racism / gay-nonsense, it's *also* problematic in it's assumption that the women in the story are there for the guys to 'win' or 'get,' as if they were just trophies to be fought over, and not people with their own agency.)

I don't think Prodigy's Suddenly Sexuality situation really has anything to do with that, 'though. Kate Bishop was already in a relationship when he arrived, and America Chavez was not having any of it, so he wasn't 'threatening' any sort of assumed white male ownership of the local ladies.

Yet, ironically, because he was revealed as bi he actually became a threat to the main relationship of the series. So (because he was bi) he actually avoided the "sexless black male" situation that too many suffer in media. Where as (as you say) if he hadn't been outed, he had no chance with MAC (and probably not Kate); and would have remained sexless.

[Kieran_Frost]

This whole Prodigy discussion brought this situation to my mind.
I think it shows just how absurd some of this is.

Now imagine you have a friend you've known for years.
He's had a girlfriend and you have seen him kiss her.
Then comes the day he decides to come out as gay or bisexual.
This is how some of the naysayers in this thread would sound.

"But I've seen you kiss a girl."
"Yeah, but now I've realized I actually/also like men."
"But you had a girlfriend."
"Yes I did... but I actually/also like men."
"Wait, but, your personal history with me shows that that's not true."
"And I'm telling you that despite that I am attracted to men."
"Come on though, you had a girlfriend and did stuff with her!"
"So what? That doesn't change the fact that I like what I like."
"To be honest, I just prefer you that way, it's true to your original self."
"My what?"
"You know, the original you that I came to know."
"This is about what makes YOU comfortable?"
"No, I'm just saying that... YOU KISSED A GIRL!"
"I don't even..."
"You're also making the black friends I have look bad. I barely have any and you'll take that away."
"I'm your only black friend."
"Yeah, but now you'll be gay/bi."
"How the hell does that make me NOT black?"
"Equal representation and supporting one group for another your know."
"T-that's not how that works as all."
"Look, you had a girlfriend and your history says otherwise. Changing your sexuality is pointless, let others do that. I need straight black friends."
"I am gay/bisexual... just deal with it or move on."

Ha! Brilliant post, and so true for the absurdity of what happens when a character is outed. Smh.

[KOSLOX]

As long as they keep using the character I don't care who Prodigy dates. If it keeps them from limboing him or "X'ing" him off (see what I did there) more power to him.

That said I'd really like to see Eli AND Josiah come back at some point. It's bogus that the entire Bradley family has been taken off the board.

[Vic Vega]

Yet, ironically, because he was revealed as bi he actually became a threat to the main relationship of the series. So (because he was bi) he actually avoided the "sexless black male" situation that too many suffer in media. Where as (as you say) if he hadn't been outed, he had no chance with MAC (and probably not Kate); and would have remained sexless.

I'm not sure that is much better than what did happen.

It's not like Prodigy had any chance at all with Hulkling. Not that they should have
gotten together, mind you.

I imagine the fan backlash would have been..... sprited.

[Alvarez]

Shipping.

Not even once. lol.

[Kieran_Frost]

I'm not sure that is much better than what did happen.

It's not like Prodigy had any chance at all with Hulkling. Not that they should have
gotten together, mind you.

I imagine the fan backlash would have been..... sprited.

Oh, I don't think anyone thought they would end up together (Wiccan/Hulkling are like Reed/Sue, they will always be together). My point was purely only by being bisexual did he avoid the possibly "sexless minority" problem MOC often find themselves in comics.

[Vic Vega]

Shipping.

Not even once. lol.

Was there anybody shipping Prodigy and Hulkling who didn't already hate Wiccan's guts?